Invigilation needs experience, skill and care

| Thursday November 4, 2010 00:00

Invigilation is a product of perfected skill, care and due diligence and is not for any Jack and Jill.

Thamani Junior Secondary School in Tshesebe wrote English paper 1 last week.  The paper was supposed to be written on Monday November 1, 2010.  Thamani School students instead wrote a back up English paper 3 on November 1 to make up for the paper they missed the other week.

The cancellation of the Junior Certificate Examination English paper 1 on Monday November 1 was because it is alleged to have leaked is a clear vindication of BOSETU and BTU who have been accused of misinforming the nation.  It is not true that the paper leaked, but it was poorly managed leading to students writing the wrong paper, which was to be written on another day. The question, which also begs is why BEC has been keeping quite all this time and only revealing the scandalous conduct around lunch time when students were about to sit and write the paper.

The cancellation of the Junior Certificate Examination English paper 1 should be followed by a Home Economics (HE) paper 1, which was wrongfully given to students at Donga junior school in Francistown on October 27 2010.  The students were supposed to write HE paper 2.  HE paper 1 is to be written on Thursday November 4, 2010, but the Francistown students browsed through it before it was whisked away from them. The papers have been opened and are still in the same state, making the paper invalid.

English paper 4, a listening comprehension version, was also characterised with heart breaking errors and blunders and definitely qualifies for cancellation.  These blunders and errors were common in almost all the schools and any parent or person can visit any school and inquire.  The inexperienced invigilators used loud speakers, read the paper more than four times, the speed and pace of the inexperienced readers was grossly inconsistent and students did not hear a thing, candidates were not allowed to browse the paper for three minutes as per the rules and regulations. We are waiting for the announcement of the cancellation of the paper.

The comedy of errors, blunders and scandals are unfolding everyday and yet Botswana Examinations Council and the Minister of Education and Skills Development (MOE&SD) are saying all is well.

The MOE&SD officials' conduct indicates that they do not agree with the 2009 High Court judgment or they are in serious denial that invigilation and course work assessment is not the duty of teachers.  The Ministers' numerous appearances on public-funded Btv and radio where she claims that teachers should not be forced and intimidated to invigilate, is just a public stunt as her officers are doing exactly the opposite and the Minister is tolerant and aware of this.  This is overwhelming in the Ministers' constituency.

While the nation is engulfed in the examination crises, all is well with the Minister of Education and she says she will only meet the unions when the examinations are over.  The Minister should act now or never.  When examinations are over the unions will be moving to other areas of their programmes like the non-teaching duties and sports boycott.  She should then prepare for that and not the examination as the unions will not have interest in that.  The unions also have programmes that they follow.  We thought this was the time to talk examination issues and not after Rome has burnt down.

The former Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Education, Ruth Maphorisa, denied that temporary teachers, expatriates and probationers are not forced and intimidated to invigilate.   The Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) also supported and backed her. Maphorisa and DPSM wrote on September 27 2010 that 'we treat these as allegations and we would like BOSETU to come forward and prove these intimidations and threats'.  BOSETU had then written that temporary teachers and others are being intimidated.  The Minister, DPSM and any interested party can visit any school in the central region and they will be told shocking details of how the Regional Director, Marcos Maedza and his officers have been intimidating and threatening temporary and expatriate teachers.  In addition, Maedza wrote to all School Heads on October 28 2010 in a savingram titled: LIST OF ALL TEMPORARY TEACHERS NOT INVOLVED IN INVIGILATION OF EXAMINATIONS.  The letter then proceeded to instruct School Heads: 'Please furnish the Regional Office with names of temporary teachers who have not agreed to participate in the invigilation of examinations.  Please treat this as a matter of urgency'.  Following the savingram, the contracts of at least two temporary teachers have since been terminated.  This is a clear case of intimidation, harassment and an unfair labour practice by the Ministry of Education and DPSM.

School Heads, Regional Directors and other education officers are now running around doing BEC work and have abandoned their core portfolio responsibilities at schools, regional offices and Ministry head offices.  The public officers have gone for the 'attractive' BEC piece jobs.  This is a clear violation of the Public Service Act, Public Service Charter, etc where there are provisions that prohibits neglect of one's core work, malpractice, misuse of public offices, etc .  When Parliament resumes on Monday November 8 2010, the Members of Parliament, as promised, should institute an intensive investigation on the current examinations so that BEC, School Heads, education officers, Regional Directors account for the malpractices and abuse of public offices and resources.  Officers responsible for teacher welfare in schools and government offices have all gone for the piece job and a visit to the offices is greeted with empty offices!

The Directorate of Public Service Management is encouraging bad labour practices by its employees.  By its silence, DPSM, which is very much aware that its employees have abandoned their core portfolio responsibilities for BEC, is endorsing the poor work place ethics.  The new public service act (2008) clearly discourages such conduct.  DPSM should know that relations in schools have deteriorated due to some school heads and regional directors who want to force teachers into invigilation and marking, despite court judgment.

JUSTIN HUNYEPAFOR BOSETU AND BTU